Salt Lake City, UT -- (SBWire) -- 05/16/2012 --As a result of the U.S. economic downturn and housing bubble burst, an increasing number of people are choosing to rent, rather than own. In fact, according to the Census Bureau, home ownership has fallen to 65.4 percent, as compared to the peak of 69 percent home ownership in 2006. This equates to about three million more households renting today than six years ago.

This shift toward renting is due to a wide variety of factors, including higher lending standards, a lack of down payment funds and the fact that it has become cheaper to rent than to own a home.

With an influx of renters, there are also a much larger number of landlords, many of which do not have the resources or the know-how to protect themselves against unruly tenants.

Fortunately, a newly redesigned tenant screening platform available from the Rental Protection Agency helps landlords run accurate reports and background checks on potential tenants. The new system from RPA provides landlords with an increased level of functionality, including easier tracking, more detailed data and a more user-friendly interface, and allows them to perform a 3-in-1 background check.

The 3-in-1 background check includes a 50-state criminal check, an identity trace and a stolen identity search, and a global, FBI and Homeland Security check.

And unlike other, more basic, screening systems available on the market, the RPA’s new address history feature allows landlords and property managers to view detailed data on their tenants’ previous addresses.

According to Scott Paxton, Director of the Rental Protection Agency, knowing a tenant’s address and movement history can safeguard a landlord from having to perform future evictions, which can cost between $1,500 and $2,500 each.

“Short move patterns of three to six months can be a major red flag that landlords should pay attention to when screening tenants,” said Paxton. “While the movement history isn't enough to decline or approve a tenant, it is a good basis to look deeper into your tenant’s history. As little as 10 percent of evictions get reported officially; thus short bursts of movement history can be a big indication of non-reported evictions.”

The RPA is so confident in the accuracy and thoroughness of their data, they offer a 60-day money-back guarantee for any customers able to find more detailed data from competing reports.

For more information, visit http://www.rentalprotectionagency.com/tenant-check-total-national.php.

About The Rental Protection Agency
The Rental Protection Agency is the Nation's Rental Authority and provides resources to help both landlords and tenants. Founded to create the highest quality background checks for landlords, the RPA can be found online at www.RentalProtectionAgency.com.